Memories of that Somebody
by Typewriterman
Summary: I wonder...I wonder what my life would be like...if I were born a Shinigami? Sennacentric AU, Chapter "9" is up!
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach...the fans do! **_

* * *

Her Academy years finally behind her, the dark haired girl smiled with intense glee on the day of her graduation. Now sporting the dark uniform that she had so long dreamt of wearing, rather than the white and red trimmed "track suit" that she so despised, she took in a breath of air, which now smelt somewhat different all of a sudden…perhaps of happiness because of her promotion, or maybe even cherries? 

Squinting slightly, the girl glared up to the bright blue expanse of sky above her with excitement, which seemed to make the radiance of the sun to shine even brighter than usual.

The red of a ribbon fluttered slightly from a soft breeze that served to cool—if even only temporarily—her milky white skin in its gentle caress. With a soft sigh, she combed her rebellious flowing hair with her fingers and tied it into a ponytail using the ribbon, and was quite happy with the results. Her bright orange-amber eyes scanned the area and the other newly graduated Shinigami, then darted them back toward the less populated area heading towards the Senkaimon.

The gate to the real world, which Shinigami of past and present had taken on their missions to perform Konso or "Soul Burials", and never ending fight against evil spirits such as Hollows. It didn't take much for the girl to get sucked into differing scenarios of her missions, like saving countless plusses, or maybe even killing a Menos Grande! Smirking devilishly, she quietly began her casual walk towards the spirit gate, that is, until a firm grasp planted itself on her shoulders.

"Where do you think_you're _going…?" The gruff voice questioned her motives from behind her, which as luck would have it, proved it difficult for the man to see her face wracked with surprised guilt. Of course, turning around to face her interrogator gave more than ample time for her to change to an 'innocent' smile. Before her stood the largest forehead she's ever seen, which happened to be attached to a heavily tattooed and red haired man. "What are you staring at?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"N-nothing, Lieutenant Abar-"

"Yeah, yeah, that's enough pleasantries." he quickly brushed aside her attempt at being polite. Scratching his head, Renji closely observed the smaller girl in front of him, as if searching for an answer for his previous question somewhere on her face. "You're supposed to be reporting to Captain Kuchiki at Squad six headquarters…" he instructed the girl, knowing full well of her history and attitude from a mix of reports and first hand accounts from instructors. "…and I don't care even if you _are _third seat. If you try any nonsense with me, I'm kicking your ass, and even if I'm not around, I'll find you, _then _kick your ass…got it?" She reluctantly held her tongue from any outbursts for now, and silently nodded her head toward the man. Stepping to the side, the girl calmly walked toward her objective, as commanded by her Vice Captain.

But of course, as she walked away from the hawk-like eyes of Renji Abarai, there was no way she could hold back her deviant smirk for long. Senna knew that he couldn't keep his eye on her _all _the time…

**Memories of that Somebody**

Written by: Typewriterman

This definitely was a new development for her. In fact, she had no idea anything of this magnitude had been available under her nose all this time. Her membership to this group was quite surprising, even more so than her given an actual rank in the Gotei thirteen upon her graduation from the academy. It was an intimidating process to register with Squad six, although a certain red haired man had already done most of the paperwork, leaving really only ceremony and an introduction to the daily Squad events. _This _group however, couldn't be more different than what she had to learn day to day for the past week from fellow squad members.

Unlike the regular Shinigami forces, the group she was just inducted to, crossed over the barriers and restrictions of the Squad system, united by a single common ideal amongst them. And from where she sat at the table, Senna felt at home amongst her peers, and they too, she confidently felt, could say the same about her. Not paying attention to the scene around her, the dark haired girl had no chance to hear the stifled giggles approach her, as a blur of pink suddenly zoomed past, sending Senna backwards in surprise. "Hey there, 'Newbie', what chu' thinking about?"

With childish glee and a disarmingly innocent attitude, the small pink haired girl looked down to the floor from where she stood on the table, giggling at the other girl's unfortunate fall. Her head still slightly jumbled from the crash, Senna shook her head quickly as the giggling continued. "President, please refrain from such childish behavior!" A stern voice suddenly chided. Reactively sitting up, peeking just over the edge of the table, Senna looked about the room until her eyes rested upon a bespectacled woman, whose own dark hair was tied in a professional bun.

An air of professionalism swirled about the woman like her own reiatsu, to which the small pink haired child-girl hesitantly obeyed. "Okey dokey!" she cutely chirped, and scampered delightfully to the front of the room, where at the head of the table she jumped into her own seat.

Without saying anything further, the bespectacled woman sighed and walked after the small girl, leaving Senna to reseat herself at the table. "Don't worry about Lieutenant Kusajishi," a young blonde woman sitting next to her smiled. "Hey, I'm Kiyone." she introduced herself.

'Hi…Senna." she returned her own introduction. After exchanging a few tidbits of information between them, both Senna and Kiyone turned to face the front, where the two club officers began their meeting. '_The Shinigami Women's Association, huh?_' She couldn't help but smile as well.

"Now, today's urgent priority…" one blonde haired woman spoke out from her seat near the pink haired girl and the professional woman were. Senna's eye flinched just slightly at her appearance and choice of dress; the pink scarf was really cute, but to say that the woman was well endowed, was akin to saying that the ocean was damp. "We need new pictures for next year's calendar. I'm thinking between a topless Ukitake or maybe a pairing? How about Hisagi and…"

'_**T-topless**__ Captain Ukitake…?' _Senna blushed at the thought of it. '_This is my kind of club!'_

--

She sat in _seiza_ just before the mat, nerved by the dimmed lights of the large room. She had never been in the Kuchiki manor before, nor would she expect to ever return again. It was pretty doubtful that her captain wanted to have tea and snacks. In fact, Senna hadn't really _met _Captain Kuchiki even when she went to report at the Sixth Division Headquarters. He had been gone for a personal meeting having to do with family affairs. Really, the only reason that she thought of to be invited to a noble's home, and more importantly, her _captain's_ home, was something important to be discussed. Most likely, it was something _clandestine_…

-

The sun was beginning to set on Soul Society, as Senna finally managed to get back to her room. Haven just returned from her Association meeting, she was in amazingly great spirits. Though dim as it was, she immediately noticed the piece of parchment settled on her desk. The Sixth Division's seal was prominently printed on the rolled up message, meaning that there was no one else it could be from. "A message…from Captain Byakuya?" she asked out loud, and opened up the paper.

_As soon as you receive this, proceed to the Kuchiki Manor_

-

Her reminiscing was cut short as she heard the dragging of wood from the sliding paper door in front of her. Though not dressed in his normal Shinigami_ shihakusho _and white Captain's _haori_, Byakuya Kuchiki was garbed in the silky robes of an Aristocrat. Actually, his hair was still parted as it usually was in the Sereitei by his kenseikan headpiece, though he was not wearing his familiar white scarf. Without saying a word, a flanked by two nameless men—most likely servants—he calmly walked across the heightened wooden platform until he kneeled into a perfect seiza a few feet from her. With a single nod, the two men on his flanks backed away from the room, leaving the two of them alone in the dimly lit area to discuss their matters privately.

"Senna Sayuri…" the nobleman began, his face was calm and austere as she had always remembered it. "I will get straight to the point." He continued without hesitance, "You must know of another Shinigami, who had just gone off to patrol in the Living World. As a seated officer of my division, I have a mission for you."

"A…mission…Captain Kuchiki…?" she asked back.

"She is an important member of the Kuchiki Household, and failure of this mission will have dire consequences on your part…" he said in a grim tone. Senna could only gulp as his intimidating glare only seemed to worsen as time went on. "I want you to…follow Rukia Kuchiki…"

* * *

_**Next Chapter "Preview"**_

'The Senkaimon...' She gasped at the magnificence of the large spiritual gate. Fluttering about her, the dark Hell Butterfly beat its wings until it pressed against the door, and opened it as a blinding light escaped from the crack. "Captain Kuchiki...about this mission..." Senna began with nervousness in her voice.

"Don't tell Lieutenant Abarai..." the stoic looking captain said simply.

"Huh?"

"Lieutenant Abarai doesn't know about this mission..."

"Uh...ok..." she slouched at his suddenly intimidating glare.

* * *

_**Shinigami Cup!!!**_

**__****...Golden...**

"So Rangiku-chan, how do you propose to catch Ukitake-taicho topless!?"

"Hmmm...I haven't really thought about it, Kiyone-chan..."

"But it's a really good idea, since it's almost impossible to get Hisagi-kun to do something 'Bleep' "

"I agree...but since he likes to drink, it should be easier to do than one would think..."

"..."

"...Kuchiki...taicho...?"

"What are you doing here...Kuchiki-taicho?"

"I'm sitting in for both my sister, and my third seat, Senna Sayuri..."

"Why do I get the feeling that this won't be the last time he'll do this...?"

* * *


	2. Chapter 3

Panting, Senna weakly opened her eyes from under the rubble. The human girl, whom the boy had mentioned was named Karin, was safe. Still, it was more than she expected to happen from a simple escort mission like this. And more importantly, what was the deal with the whole family being so spiritually aware? It was no wonder that the Hollow had attacked here.

The terrible howl of the Hollow caught her attention, as Senna strained to stand up to where Rukia had gone to attack the monster. Her own eyes grew wide at seeing her fellow Shinigami slump against a road barricade, red staining her dark robes. She saw the smaller woman point her zanpakuto toward the orange haired boy, to which he took the blade to aim toward his throat. '_What is she…?_' he mind raced to figure out the answer, until a flash of intense light enveloped her as well…

**Memories of that Somebody**

Written By: Typewriterman

-- Chapter 3 --

She blushed slightly at the blond man in front of her, not knowing exactly what to say. She very self consciously pressed her hand down, as if worried that a wind might suddenly blow if she weren't prepared. (This was quite ironic the more she thought about it) Next to her, the smaller raven haired girl was far from being embarrassed by the school uniform and continued inspecting herself in the mirror. It was rather fetching on Rukia, Senna thought, but her own looks weren't quite as complimentary in her mind.

"Well, how do you like it?" the man spoke again, "Since it's for two of you, I can make it cheap—a discount, if you will…" Although charming in his salesmanship ways, there was just something off with the flamboyant candy vendor. It was one thing to be spiritually aware to see them, but it was quite another matter to be able to provide gigais and the like—such supply points were never discussed about in the Academy. Rolling her wrists around, the Kuchiki girl toyed with each joint with an individual movement, sometimes finding kinks while other motions proved to be quite smooth.

"Are you sure these gigais are 'top of the line'?" Rukia asked skeptically, "…it seems a bit rustic to control…" she pouted at the defectiveness of the fake body, the specific problem something she avoided from being too direct about. "How is yours, Senna?"

"Uh, a bit heavy…but everything seems to be fine for me…" the orange eyed girl replied. "But, ano, Mr. Urahara…?" she asked towards the quirky vendor, "…do women in the Living World really wear skirts at this length?" Despite her always dreaming about wearing the most fashionable of clothing lines—perhaps Rangiku was partly to blame—it turned out that it was an entirely different feeling to wear such clothing herself. At least she didn't find as many problems with her Gigai, but of course, she wasn't the one definitely in need of one—at least she still retained much of her reiatsu.

"Well of course they do…" he answered cheekily, "that's a high school uniform you're wearing, so don't be so embarrassed." He smirked widely in an attempt to soothe her anxiety. "But I digress…" he turned back to Rukia as he changed the subject, "you will have to hurry up now…school will be starting soon."

--

"Hello!" Rukia smiled curiously wide as she extended her hand towards the orange haired teen in front them. He predictably jumped backwards aghast at the threatening note written on the girl's palm, something that Senna had predicted would happen. She rolled her eyes and sighed quietly that no one else had realized the reason for the boy's sudden reaction.

"And this is Senna, her sister." Mizuiro introduced the second girl toward his scowly friend Ichigo, completely unaware that the three had already met. Ichigo scowled even more at the familial title of "sister", but had not said anything in response to it.

"Uh, hi…" she played along with the false pretenses, and waved in a bashful manner at Ichigo's intensifying glare of disbelief.

"Say, 'Ichi-ho', right?" she pretended to forget his name in a playful manner, smiling all the while. "Please take care of me." She said in a soft polite voice and bowed gently, which only managed to bring a bit more of a hardened scowl on Ichigo's face.

It wasn't long until break before the teen dragged the two girls outside of the school. Somehow, Rukia managed to keep her cool throughout the strange occurrence, while Senna only managed to look like a fish flopping around on land as the boy's firm grip latched onto her shoulder. Leaving the main school building, the three of them walked through an alleyway formed behind and next to the main outside portable shed.

"Such a secluded place..." Rukia said as if she was reciting something from memory, "…what's on your mind, big boy?"

"R-rukia!?" Senna exclaimed in embarrassment along with Ichigo.

"Don't say stuff like that…" he scoffed at the small girl's comment, "It's disgusting!"

"Y-yeah! I can't believe you'd say something so embarrassing…" Senna sighed out while rubbing the back of her neck.

"Oh, 'embarrassing'?" Rukia arched an eyebrow at the other girl's choice of words, "That's pretty interesting since _you're _the one who dared me to say it…"

"Wha!?" the corner of the taller girl's lip twitched as she turned her glance away from the both of them, not wanting either of them to see the embarrassed look of a girl caught red handed. "N-no, of course not! What a crazy thing to say!!" she attempted to laugh away Rukia's turnaround until her blush subsided.

Ichigo groaned over the two girls' comedic act, to which he growled at the thought that it probably wasn't really an act at all. "Both of you shut up!" he finally snapped from the irritation as he stopped walking and turned to face them. "Explain _why _you two are here." He demanded.

"Explain?" Rukia turned to face him, her face blank of any idea of what the teen was talking about.

"That's right!" He now openly growled in a louder voice, "Isn't your work here finished!? Why are you two sneaking into my class!? Why didn't you go back to Soul Society or whatever!?" He exclaimed. To that, the raven haired girl crossed her arms over her chest, and presented a much more serious face than she had before, reminiscent to that when they first met the other night. Senna noticed the other girl's change in personality as well and looked down at her feet as if it was a shameful taboo.

"…I'd have to be a Soul Reaper to return to the Soul Society…" Rukia responded in a deeper voice. In it, there was a hint of conviction behind her words. "I _can't _go back…"

"Huh?" Ichigo arched an eyebrow over her answer. Rather than absorbing the information that he was just told, he looked at her as if he were conversing with a toddler over a suddenly empty cookie jar. "Why not?"

"Because…" she continued. "I los-"

Not being able to suppress it any longer, Senna stomped over to the brainless twit of a human as he and Rukia continued their melodramatic back-and-forth. "You _took_ her powers, you idiot!!" He yelped and clutched at his head where she pounded her fist against, and jumped away from her to create some distance.

"What the hell was _that _for you crazy girl!?" Ichigo exclaimed, still clutching what appeared to be a developing bump on his head underneath his orange hair. "What do you think you're doing?

"Hitting you, that's what!"

"I see _that_!" he tried to avoid yet another attack from this seemingly deranged girl. "But why the heck are you hitting _me _for!? I'll give her stupid powers back, ok?"

"It isn't that simple…" Rukia finally interjected, halting Senna's brash attack on the larger teenaged boy. "Last night, you stole _all _of my powers…" Ichigo could only blink in response, that night still hazy in his mind…

-

_"Place the point of my Zanpakuto over your heart…and I will infuse you with half of my Soul Reaper powers…my __**reiatsu**__…"_

_"What…?"_

_"You will temporarily have the powers of a Soul Reaper, a Shinigami, to give you a chance against the Hollow."_

_"Are you sure…can you do something like that?"_

_"I do not know. Perhaps, because your soul is so powerful, but…the chance of success is low, and…If we fail, you __**die**__!"_

-

"So, until I regain my powers…_you_have to do the work of a Shinigami!!" Rukia presented it like a game show host would to a newly won prize. Woken from his daydream, Ichigo scowled at the girl's sudden announcement.

"What!? Don't go deciding things on your own like that!" he growled at her. She didn't seem the least bit intimidated by it, in fact, she just continued on describing the things they would have to train him in to make him a better shinigami. "Why can't you have your 'sister' do all that?" Glancing over to Senna, he quickly noticed the blank stare on her face. "Don't tell me you lost your powers, too!?" Without a word, she only shrugged, the blank stare somehow become more neutral, and irritating Ichigo even more.

'_No, but if Captain Kuchiki found out, he'd __**kill **__me…' _Senna rolled her eyes to the top corner to avoid the boy's continuous glare.

"Hey, I _saw _that!" he pointed an accusing finger as Rukia continued to list off Ichigo's new training regimen. "And you, cut that out! I'm not gonna be a Shini-what you call it!!"

--

_And that's how it all started._

_Though at first very apprehensive to the thought, Ichigo was eventually presented with an example of a Shinigami's work that he couldn't deny at all. Still, I wonder how long it'll be for Rukia to regain her powers. Though, I doubt I'd be able to resist saying that…I may very well be enjoying my first mission to the Living World__ t__o__o__ much__ care__…_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Really now, is someone actually reading this? Sweet...anyways, you read correctly; this is chapter three, not two like you expected, huh? Ha. I've decided against the common "retracing through the entirety of the Bleach plot with a Senna twist", but instead I'll post selective chapters about only certain things that happened in the story.

Hope you enjoyed reading this!

_Side Note:_ If you ever saw the movie/read wikipedia, you'd find the irony in Senna worrying about wind... (here's a hint: her zanpakuto controls twisters...)

_**Legalities**_

All characters created by Taito Kubo; Bleach does not belong to me


	3. Chapter 7

Senna only had time to glance back once more, to the bleeding teenager that was formally known as Ichigo Kurosaki. A pool of blood had now gathered around the corpse, as a sudden enveloping flash of light sprang forth behind her. A new gate that would eventually lead to the Senkaimon had opened up, as her captain dutifully turned away from his handiwork to leave.

Renji was apathetic to the whole situation, not caring about the orange haired teenager in the least. A twinge in the back of her mind strummed suddenly, until finally she turned to see something grab Captain Kuchiki's pants leg.

Chiding her to follow along, Senna had no choice but to quickly keep behind her Lieutenant, but had managed to glance just one more time. As the ephemeral inter-dimensional gate light enveloped her, she saw Rukia kick Ichigo's hand away, before turning away with tears in her eyes…

**Memories of that Somebody**

Written by: Typewriterman

-- Chapter 7 --

Days had passed since their arrest and return to Soul Society, most of it spent in the Squad Six headquarters. Despite the serene blue of the sky, the warmth provided by the sun and luscious green of the court gardens and foliage, Senna sat inside, knowing full well of her practical_House Arrest_, but her conscience and mind were heavy with much more devastating things.

Their trial was a joke.

Since she herself was not involved in giving away her powers to a human, Senna was only charged as being an accessory to the crime, and was subsequently "let off" into Captain Kuchiki's hands, of which he had a final say on punishment. Rukia on the other hand…Senna just didn't want to think about it. The Central Forty Six had the ultimate say in its judicial rulings, leaving Senna to only stare up to the foreboding white tower in the far distance.

Soft clacks patted against the wooden floor of the Headquarters, though Senna refused to look anywhere but out through the window, whoever it was that had entered. Placing papers onto his desk, Renji solemnly looked back to his third seat, feeling as though he had betrayed his closest friend by not saying anything. But what could he do? As soon as the one witness to Rukia's supposed crime had been pardoned, her say in the matter was basically ignored. Short of breaking Rukia out himself, his hands were essentially tied. Without saying a word, he left the office and the young girl who stared off into the distance.

Senna knew that her Lieutenant had come and gone, not only by his familiar reiatsu, but she could just _feel _his large forehead staring at her from behind. He most likely had to go to his Lieutenants' meeting, as the Captains had to go to theirs. But to her, none of that mattered right now. She had to find a way to save Rukia. There was just something so wrong with the situation. Without any solid proof however, Senna knew that there was no way she could do anything to help Rukia.

She just felt wretched at the feeling of being impotent and helpless; despite even retaining all of her abilities in the Living World when she had traveled with Rukia, there seemed to have been no change in her uselessness. It had become obvious that Captain Kuchiki would do nothing to save his own sister either, leaving her only allies to be those of Squad Thirteen; Rukia's squad.

Other than news of strange occurrences happening involving the Gate Keeper in West Rukongai, there was nothing else to distract her from all of the mounting problems…

"EMERGENCY!! EMERGENCY!!"

'_That clanging…!'_ Her mind raced '_…what's going on!?'_ She rushed to peek outside the open window, in order to get a better chance of hearing the message over the louder clanging.

"INTRUDER IN THE SEIREITEI!! ALL GUARDSMEN TO BATTLE STATIONS!!"

"An intruder!?" Senna exclaimed over the message, and rushed outside of the Division Headquarters. It seemed that many other Shinigami were just as taken back by the news as she was, since several had run outside like her as well. Their utterances of disbelief and gasps went on while others rushed off to go in search for the intruders, the _Ryoka_, as if it were a competition to capture them first.

"…Men…" she sighed and clicked her tongue at their childish behavior. Just then above her, a sudden flash of light shot off, successfully stealing everyone's attention toward the sky. The clouds themselves curved around the object's gravitational pull, as it seemed aimed for the Seireitei itself.

"That's crazy!" one Shinigami exclaimed.

"Psh, don't worry about it…there's no way it'll get past the barrier!" a second boasted loudly, "Get ready for some fireworks!" he laughed over his joke, but still, there seemed to be a slight sense of doubt in his voice.

Although it sounded completely stupid, Senna had to admit that it was kind of calming to hear what that Shinigami said, especially with a huge ball of light waiting to crash down onto them. But, though the distance high up had made it difficult to estimate how far away it was from the barrier, they heard the thump of two heavy objects crashing into each other. The gasps however, were not over any fireworks; the object was still there.

"_No…way…_" her mind tilted over itself and then onto its side as she and the other shinigami were awed by the sight above all of them. "What is it!?" Senna finally screamed out, as the light grew hotter and more intense. The energies wavered and crackled, like a series of explosions and implosions erupting in a chain, one after another. With one final dull ring, the entire environment of the seireitei seemed to destabilize for a knee-jerk moment as the light imploded and shot out several smaller beams that fell all around the Seireitei.

"Was that…?" a faint sense within her felt something familiar from the beams, as they crashed into different parts all around her.

"Come on men! Let's get those Ryoka!!" the shinigami around her rushed off, leaving Senna to stand in front of the Division Headquarters alone.

"Was that really…?" her hand trembled at the thought of it, not knowing if her mind was just playing tricks on her because of all the stress. Clasping it with her other hand to steady herself, Senna was in strict disbelief over the feeling. "Was that you…Ichi…go…?"

* * *

_**Next Chapter "Preview"**_

_**"**_Oh, Ikkaku, look! Up there!"

"Heh? What the hell do you think that is, Yumichka?"

"I don't know...maybe...it's a wishing star!!"

"...what?"

"Oh dear wishing star...grant me one single wish...like...a new hairstyle?"

"That's gotta be the fruitiest wish I've ever heard..."

"Say, Ganju..did you hear something?"

"You're probably just hearing things, Ichigo..."

* * *

_**Shinigami Cup!!!**_

**__****...Golden...**

"Was that you...Ichi..."****

"Waaaaaaatcchhhh Oooooooouuuutt!!"

"Waahh!?"

SLAM!!

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Here we are in Chapter 7 already...ah, don't you remember that time in Chapter 5 when Senna and Orihime had that funny little thing happen, while Ichigo was none the wiser? Good times...gooood times...

_**Legalities**_

All characters created by Taito Kubo; Bleach does not belong to me

****

******__****  
**


	4. Chapter 9

Happy New Year**  
**

* * *

**Memories of that Somebody**

Written by: Typewriterman

--

The anxiety inside of her grew, knowing full well now the identities of the _ryoka _who had invaded the Seireitei.

She had felt bursts of energy exploding all around her, indicating fights breaking out in attempts to catch them. There was already one burst that had thrown off an officer of the eleventh division, and several others throwing off several other shinigami. This one though, was not only bigger than the rest thus far, but involved more than one familiar reiatsu to her.

-- Chapter 9 --

Turning around a corner, the purple haired girl panted as her wooden sandals clacked loudly against the ground. A turn left, and she was close to where that huge burst had been, toward the steps leading up to the base of the straddling white tower that pierced the sky; the Tower of Penitence. Since then, both of the signatures had drastically decreased, almost to the point of death. '_Hold on…just hold on…_' her orange eyes focused on the trail ahead, which banked left one more time before the open space at the base of the steep stairs.

Several beams of light flashed by her, where there were supposed to be walls. "…?" Senna stopped in her tracks, and stared out through the holes that had pierced the massive walls. Suddenly halting caused her ribbon to flutter down loosely again, past a face of disbelief to hang loosely over her shoulders. Gasping, she observed the damage before her; the walls were completely bashed and crumpled, as if the gate guardians stormed through; pockets of sunken tiles littered the open and flat surface at the base of the stairs, and in front of her, a huddled pair looked around in a panic. The larger of the two carried the unconscious form of a shinigami with orange hair, while the other, though meek, also wore a shinigami's uniform and looked back at a crumpled mess of black and red before disappearing from view.

"_Oh no_…" Senna gasped again, and rushed forward to where the two were. Landing next to the crumpled form, she immediately bent down to check the vital signs of the red haired man, before giving a choppy sigh of relief. Hearing a grinding sound nearby, Senna jerked her head about to and fro, in an effort to find where those others had ran off to. A single hand closing a trick tile about twenty feet to her left was the only clue to their whereabouts before several approaching reiatsus stopped her chase.

"Hey you, halt!!" a man called out with an authoritative voice, garnering her attention toward a blond officer and several unranked shinigami who followed him. His eyes flushed and his eyebrows furrowed with his blank stare.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" one of the unranked shinigami gasped out as he and another rushed to the crumpled and bleeding form of Renji Abarai.

"Lieutenant…Kira…" Senna looked down to her own lieutenant's unconscious form, trying to avoid the eyes of the blond man next to her. She gulped and silently accepted the fact that she was now a suspect in the attack.

"Hurry up and grab the other side!"

"I know what to do! Stop panicking!!"

"It looks like they fled…" reported one of the unnamed shinigami toward the blond lieutenant, "Should we give chase?"

Taking a pause, Senna felt his eyes glare through her, causing her to gulp again. "No." Suddenly, she felt a soft hand grasp her shoulder, and though it initially sent a chill up her spine, she glanced back to a soft faced Izuru looking back to her. "Come on, Senna." He said in a calm voice, "Let's go."

--

It was a grim scene to watch Lieutenant Hinamori shed her tears in font of the unconscious Renji, who had been placed onto a stretcher and wrapped tightly in bandages and a blanket-like cloth to keep him from falling out during transport. Her hands were placed over her mouth as she and the blond haired Izuru watched over their close friend. Senna felt quite out of place in the situation, though at the same time was relieved that she wasn't to be blamed for Renji's condition.

-

"_We're all spread out…_" _Izuru reassured her as Renji was still being secured onto the stretcher,_ "_It's just lucky that you got here when you did…_"

-

"He was like this when we found him…" he now said gloomily to the close-to-hysterical young woman next to him. "If I had come to his aid sooner…" his eyes flickered toward Senna as they silently exchanged glances over the matter, and he sighed with sincere apology.

"No. It's not your fault." Momo spoke through clasped hands, as if she would break out into a full cry at any moment.

Glancing down to his friend, Izuru brushed a hand through his blond hair and sighed again. "Anyway, I'll contact Fourth Division. I'll have them send a high-level rescue unit..."

"That will not be necessary." All three of them flinched at the cold voice; their eyes wide with realization over who it was to would say such a thing. Looming behind Momo, the Sixth Division captain kept his face emotionless despite the situation. With darkened cold eyes, he leered at Senna with a look of utmost disappointment. "Just dump him in a cell."

"C-captain Kuchiki…" Senna breathed out from shock. Rather than antagonize him, she reactively glanced downward to the floor while the two lieutenants addressed him directly.

"B-but…" Momo began, grasping her own shihakusho uniform out of habit, "Renji fought the Ryoka by himself." She pleaded with the man before him, "He-"

"No excuses." Byakuya interrupted her, having nothing to do with Momo's heart-felt plea. Not even addressing the person he was chastising with direct eye contact, he looked toward the two lieutenants in a general direction, like all nobles seemed to be able to do. "He_chose_ to fight alone. Defeat was _not_ an option." He coldly stated the facts to them. From the corner of her eye, Senna watched Momo's face retract in disbelief from the captain's words, as if she were somehow hearing a different message than the other two in the room with her. "We have no use for beaten fools. Now take this wretch away."

He turned to walk out of the door, leaving a normally timid Momo to give in to her own convictions. "Wait!!" she suddenly exclaimed with wide eyes, "That's no way to speak of-"

"-Shut up!" Izuru interjected and grasped the young girl's shoulder. He eyed her down as if to save her from a grave mistake.

"But, Izuru…" she turned her attention to her blond friend. Seeing the nobleman crane his glance to behind him, Senna rushed to jump in front of the two lieutenants and immediately bowed in reverence.

"M-my apologies, Captain Kuchiki!" Though not necessarily taking the blame for the two behind her, Senna breathed deeply in and out for being an indirect cause for the fighting, namely, her mission concerning Rukia.

"We apologize, sir!" Izuru bent down as well, following Senna's example. Though not as immediate, Momo bent down as well, giving her sincere regret over her behavior with her saddened facial expression.

"I'm…I'm sorry sir…"

Feeling his cold glare bearing directly down on her, Senna hesitantly looked up to meet her orange eyes with his dark ones, before he turned away to walk out of the room. A cold sweat seeped out from the intimidation from just his one glare, before she solemnly followed her captain down the walkway as well.

-

"_Sayuri…return to the Division Headquarters…" Without so much as looking at her, Byakuya Kuchiki continued along the walkway, leaving Senna to pause where she stood. _

-

Though it seemed that she had avoided yet another cataclysmic end yesterday, Senna didn't have any time to celebrate. Well, there really wasn't anything to celebrate for in the first place. In fact, it seemed to be that the captains and lieutenants had even more to worry about today, considering the sudden emergency meeting that was held just that morning. There was a total blackout of information to anyone else, even to seated officers. The only order that _had _been issued though was…the total wartime permission to wear one's zanpakuto in court…

'_There's definitely something going on…_' she thought. Despite a direct order, something was definitely wrong with the situation. Taking a peek around the corner, Senna needed to make sure the coast was clear as she snuck around the maze-like path that traversed around Seireitei. She had to take special care to take Mirokumaru along with her, given the wartime permission and all. Tiptoeing about, the orange eyed girl snuck about to investigate the base of the stairs one more time, letting intuition tell her that there was some kind of clue to lead her to the truth.

"Hmmm…?" she peeked from behind a broken wall that overlooked the battered area once again, looking around for any passerby-shinigami who could interfere with her investigation. While squinting her eyes in order to see all the high places where people could hide, a grainy sound from the middle of the skirmish zone caught her attention. A large square slid out of place, as what seemed like a six-armed tentacle monster popped from underneath, eliciting a scared "eek" from a surprised Senna. Panting and hiding behind the wall, Senna took deep breaths to calm down, and slowly but surely look around the wall again.

The monster seemed to have disappeared—to her joy—but movement running up the stairs caught her eyes immediately. Running ahead of two others, dressed in the shihakusho of a shinigami, and displaying loud, orange hair on his head…

"Ichi…go…?" she breathed out, and immediately took off running after the three. It had to be some sort of a dream. She saw Captain Kuchiki kill him before she and Rukia were taken back to Soul Society. No, if this were a dream, then…

--

"Yes! We're here!" Ichigo called out with sheer confidence, "There's nobody around!! Security's lax here too!" Making sure that both Ganju and Hanataro were still behind him, he began running again, now knowing that after these stairs that there was nothing to stop him from saving Rukia from execution. "All right! We're going all the way!!" he called out as the white tower in the distance seemed that much closer.

"Ich…igo!!" a voice called out from behind him. Arching an eyebrow in confusion, he glanced behind himself, thinking that it was Hanataro needing to take a break from fatigue.

"I knew that…that 'nutritional pill' was a bunch of bullsh-" he gave a cocky smirk as he turned around, but exclaimed in sheer surprise by what he saw. "Eh!?" was all he managed to yelp before a blur of black and red managed to jump him. With a forceful tumble, Ichigo thumped to the ground as the dark robed attacker sat on top of him. With a growl, Ganju was quick to take out one of his explosives while Hanataro stuttered incomprehensively.

The attack definitely took Ichigo off guard, but though pinned, his attacker seemed to hesitate in giving the final blow. He looked up; the light of the sun casted a silhouette that caused the face to be indistinguishable. Suddenly, soft sobs reached his ears, as a pair of scared and teary orange eyes hovered over a weak smile. "Sen…na…?" he asked, now recognizing her face.

Giving one last sniffle, the girl on top of him wiped her eyes with a sleeve and smiled again. Without warning though, her lips quickly curved downwards, as she cocked her fist over her shoulder.

"What…the heck!?" Ganju gasped while Hanataro stared in confusion.

No longer sitting on top of the orange haired teen but cross legged on the ground, Senna crossed her arms over each other and refused to look at Ichigo, pouting as she did so. "…you…you idiot…" she grumbled as Ichigo rubbed his head in search of a bump he was sure to grow to go along with his pounding migraine. "I…thought you were dead…"

"Geez…you're still so unpredictable…" she heard him grumble from behind her. Hearing him grunt to stand up, the sound of light patting against fabric gave off the impression that he was dusting off his uniform with his hands. "But that doesn't matter, anyway. We came here to save Rukia."

Senna lowered her head then, trying to restrain herself from tearing up again despite the smile that returned to her face. "You…doofus…"

"Huh?" He was caught off guard by her sudden name calling, but simply stood there as the girl stood up as well. Senna turned around to face him, giving off the most determined look he had ever seen on her.

"…why didn't you…invite me…?" she smiled even wider now, and wiped a single tear drop with her finger.

Smiling back, Ichigo stood proudly with his hands on his hips. "Come on, then." With that, the four of them turned and took off toward the prominent tower, now so much closer than before.

"_We're coming, Rukia…_" Senna thought cheerfully, "_We're going to save y-_" Gasping for breath, her muscles spasmed out of her control. Coughing violently, the immense feeling passed as quickly as it had appeared, leaving the four of them to glance to the other with furrowed brows.

"Run!!" Ichigo yelled back from the front, "Whoever it is, I'm sure we don't want to meet him!!"

--

"He's finally here…" The wind ruffled his white haori, and the soft jingle of bells rang in the background. "…which one is it? Let's see…"

* * *

**_Next Chapter "Preview"_**

"How do you...know my name?"

"Oh. Didn't Ikkaku tell you?"

_No...not really...I think..._

"I am Kenpachi Zaraki-Captain of Eleventh Company."

"And _I'm _Yachiru!!"

"Wha!? Lieutenant Kusajishi!?"

"Hey there, Giftwrap!!"

"...Giftwrap...?"

"...it's...it's just a nickname, Ichigo..."

* * *

_**Shinigami Cup!!**_

_**...Golden...**_

"Oh, Nanao-chan, Nanao-chan, wherefore art thou, Nanao-chan?"

"...I...**really **don't won't to wear this dress..."

"But you'd look so _cute _in that flowery pattern, Nanao-ch-"

SMACK!!

"...how about just the hat, then...?"

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Here we are in Chapter 9 already...ah, don't you remember that time in Chapter 8 when Senna and Rukia had that funny little thing happen, while Ichigo was none the wiser? Good times...gooood times...

_**Legalities**_

All characters created by Taito Kubo; Bleach does not belong to me


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